Deer hunters will have an opportunity to harvest a whitetail deer in six Missouri state parks during managed deer hunts to alleviate deer overpopulations on Dec. 12-13. During the hunts, the parks will be closed to all visitors, except already approved deer hunters. By law, state parks are established as wildlife refuges and hunting is not permitted except under special circumstances. These special hunts are being used as a resource management tool because the deer population is too large for the environment of the park and resources in the park are being damaged.
Managed hunts will be conducted Dec. 12-13 at the following parks:
St. Joe State Park near Farmington
Crowder State Park near Trenton
Cuivre River State Park near Troy
Pershing State Park near Brookfield
Pomme de Terre State Park near Pittsburg
St. Francois State Park near Bonne Terre
The hunts will be conducted following guidelines established by the Missouri Department of Conservation, which regulates hunting of wildlife in the state. Hunters who will be participating submitted special applications this summer for the Department of Conservation’s special managed hunts, which are held annually. Hunters were selected through a random computer drawing. Only those hunters who already have a special permit will be allowed to participate in the hunts. Missouri State Parks administers state parks and historic sites throughout Missouri. All other state parks and historic sites, other than the six mentioned above, will not be affected by the hunts and will remain open to the public. For more information on Missouri state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.